World's Scariest Ski Slopes

Corbet’s Couloir, Jackson Hole, WY

The Ride: The vast majority of skiers who approach this epic chute never muster the courage to go down. One look over the lip of its legendary opening precipice is all you’ll need to understand why: it’s nothing short of a cliff face. You’ll drop some 20 feet before your skis can even hope to connect with snow; edging over requires both a figurative and a literal leap of faith. The good news is, once that’s over, the rest of the run—with its average pitch of 40 degrees—will seem like cake.

Insider Trivia: The trail is named for the late James Barry Corbet—founder of the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides—who, upon first spying the uncharted chute in 1960, reportedly said, “Someday, someone will ski that.”